Surgical appliance



Patented Dec. s, 1931 GAs'roN :msnm rumor, 0 1' Nnw zonk, N. Y.

snaar-cu.' Arrmncn Appliication mea nay 17, 192e. serial nu. 109,553..

This invention relates to the art of surgery, and it pertains more particularly to a new and improved device for applying medical agents to various-cavities of the human body.

It is one of the primary objects of the invention to provide a device by the use of which a medicament maybe applied to the affected area by the patient, a successful operation of the device not requiring any particular skill or knowledgeon the part of the patient.

It is a further object of the invention to provide' a device of this character which is of such proportions as to render it capable of convenient carrying upon the person of the patient.

It is a still further object of the present invention to providea newand improved method of. ackaging the medicament in uantities ci) individual or single applica'- tions, thus rendering the' carrying of a number of applications upon the person of the patient, convenient.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide containers for the medical agent,

which containers are adapted for use directly with the applicator, thus obviating the necessity of charging the applicator by' transf ferring the medicament from to the applicator.

' While a device constructed in accordance with the presentE invention has many use s in the treatment of various portions of-the hu- -man body, it particularly lends itself to the application of medicament to the female va- Ila. r The invention will be clearly understood the container from the vaccompanying drawings illustrating the invention in its preferred form, and

'an interior thread on the barre the' following detailed description ofthe con- Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on theline 3-3 of Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

In the resent illustration of the invention, the evice includes a barrel 10, one end 'of which is artially closed by an mwardly projecting angeo 11 provided with a centrally arranged re or passage'12. .The opposite end o this barrel i's open, and is ada. t- 60 [ed to )be closed by means of a -plug mem r 13 anda cap 14. f

' The plug member 13 is provided with an inwardly projecting ange 15 which, in turn,

is formed with an elongated slot 16, the pur- 6 5 pose of which will be hereinafter specifically set forth. To provide for the removal of this plug member 13, it is formed with a threaded ortion which has interenga ement with i 10. These .7o interengaged threads areldesignated by the reference numeral 17 in Figures 1 and 2. Extendin from theplug member 13, and

projecting eyond the adjacent end of the arrel 10, there is a tubular. extension 18,

having diametrically disposed elongated circumferentially extending'slots 19. The cap 14 is retained in position by means of two studs preferably -in Vthe form of screw bolts or the like 20 carriedthereby, and ex'- 80y tending throughthe aforementioned slots 17, as shown. A

Mounted for movement longitudinally of the barrel 10,'there'is a plunger 21, and this plunger 21 conforms in cross-sectional shape 85 v.to the bore or passage12 in which itis slidabl mounted.

dj acent. its inner end,'this plunger 21 has an annular flange 22, and interposed between this flange 22, and the plug member 13 there 90 is a coiled spring 23 which coiled spring 23 surrounds that portion of the plunger 'between the flange 22 and the end adjacent. thereto.

The plunger 21'is moved inwardly of the 95 barrel 10, as shown in Figure 1, toplaoe the spring 23 undercompression, and to retain the plunger in this spring compressing position, a plunger locking 'member 24'1s employed. This plunger locking member 9A 100 is suitably secured to the inner end of the plunger 21, preferably by cross-pins 25, and has a flattened head portion 26, which when the plunger 21 is moved to its innermost position, will pass through the elongated slot 16 in the plug member 13. After the flattened head portion 26 of this plunger locking member 21 has been passed through the slot 16, a slight turn of'the plunger 21 will position the flattened head portion of the plunger locking member behind the flange 15 to retain the plunger in its retracted position.

lVhen the plunger is in its retractedposition, the flattened head portion o the plunger locking member is in position to be engaged by the screw bolts 18 carried by the cap 14 and it is by this means that the plunger locking member is moved out of engagement with the flange 15 to permit of the projection of the plunger under the influence of the spring 23, a slight turning of the cap 14 being all that is necessary to effect the foregoing operation.

The barrel 10 has a screw thread 27 formed upon the end thereof, and having threaded engagement therewith, there is a cap 28. This cap preferably has a restricted open end Y 29, the purpose of which will be hereinafter more specifically. described.

As heretofore stated, the medicament to be applied is put up in individual packages,

each containing a single application, said packages being of such construction as to render them capable of use directly with the applicator without transfer of their contents thereto.

One form of such a package for the medicament is herein shown as comprising a tube 30 of glass or other suitable material having an open end 31 and a closed end 32 which latter is provided with a discharge opening 33.

In packaging the medicament in this tube, the discharge opening is closed by a suitable medium 34 which will effect a closure under ordinary conditions but will not prevent discharge of the medicament under pressure. One example of such a sealing medium which has been found vvery efficient is petroleum jelly of which medium a very small quantity is necessary to provide an effective seal.

The discharge opening 33 having been scaled, the medicament in sufficient quantity for a single application is placed in the tube through its open end, after which the tube is closed by a suitable closure 35, which also serves as a plunger to discharge the medicament frolnthe tube.

formed of paraffin, this substance ha ving been found to form an efficient closure and discharging plunger. and is not subject to action by the contents of thc tube. The closure may bc formed by pouringr the paraffin in a liquid stat-e upon the surface. of the medicament within the tube until a layer of the desired thickness is formed. On account of the slight shrinkage of the paraffin upon cooling, it may be desirable to apply a sealing medium to the periphery of the closure 35. Thus a thin coating of eollodion or other similar medium may be applied to the outer surface of the closure or plunger 35, along the periphery thereof where it contacts with the tube. This sealing medium is designated by the numeral 36 in the drawings.

Such a medicament package constitutes a cartridge for the applicator, and in use is adapted to be placed in the cap 28 in the position shown in the drawings. In applying the cartridge to the cap, the plunger is retracted and set in the position shown, the cap is dctachcd from the barrel 10, a cartridge is inserted and the cap is then replaced in the barrel.

When it is desired to use the device, with the several parts in -the position in which they are shown in Figure 1, it is only necessary to introduce the applicator loaded with a capsule into the cavity to be treated, after which the cap 14 is given a slight turn. This turning of the cap 14 releases the plunger locking member 24, as heretofore described, releasing the plunger 21 and permitting the plunger to move forwardly under the force ofthe spring 23.

In its forward movement, the plunger moves the closure 35 through the tube 30, the closure in its movement serving as a head for the plunger 21. The movement of the closure 35 through the tube under the force of the plunger 21 causes the rupture of the sealing medium 34 by the pressure of the medicament thereon and the medicament is discharged from the tube 30 through the opening 33. y

After each operation of the device, the cap 28 is removed, and the discharged cartridge is replaced with a filled one. After then resetting the plunger 21, the cap 28 may be replaced and the device is ready for another operation.V

When the instrument is not in use, the cap 28 carries no medicament cartridge 30, and the cap may therefore be positioned on the barrel as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, materially reducing the size of the instrument and rendering it capable of convenient carrying upon the person.

Vhile the invention is herein shown in its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that it is not limited to its illustrated form, but may be practiced in various forms which fall within the purview of the appendeu claims.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In a device of the character described, a medicament carrying cartridge, means for sealing the opposite ends of said cartridge, and means for exerting pressure upon the medicament in the cartridge to first rupture one of said cartridge vsealing means and forcing one of the other sealing means througih the cartridge to cause a v discharge of t e medicament therefrom, said last mentioned means comprising a spring actuated plunger. 2. A medicament cartrldge comprising a rigid tube having a partially closed end and an open end, said partially closed end being formed with a relatively small discharge opening, a' plastic seal for said discharge opening to permit of charging the cartridge with a suitable medicament through the open end, means for closing the open end of said cartridge, said closing means serving as a piston head acting on the medicament to eifect the rupture of the sealing means andthe discharge of the medicament from the tube.

3. A medicament cartridge comprising a tube having an open end and a partially closed end, said partially closed end being formed with a discharge opening, a plastic sealing means in the form of petroleum jelly for closing said discharge opening to permit of charging the cartridge with suitable medicament through the open end, a closure for the open end of said tube, said closure comp'risingparallin introduced into the tube in liquid state and allowed to'solidi'yl therein, and a seal for said closure, said seal consisting of collodion applied to the peripheral ed eof the closure and to the tube. 1

igned at New York, New York this 15 day of May, 1926.

GAs'roN DESIRE 'rHvENoT- 

